At any price to pay
by Insert a Catchy Penname Here
Summary: Marvelous' musings on the cew's eagerness for the great treasure in the universe


At any price to pay

Author Note: Okay, if you folks haven't seen Episode 49...YOU HAVE NOT HAVE LIVED! It. Is. Awesome. Epic. Sauce. With. A. Side. Of. French. Fries. And. COOKIES! But not just cookies. CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! and one more time !. So this here story is goin be about Episode 49, so spoilers, beware!

Summary quote:** Marvelous' musings on the crew's eagerness toward the greatest treasure in the universe.**

Oh...this IS the summary...

Oops. :P :D

Time for me to make this showy! :D

_XXXXXXXXXX_

His first musing: The greatest treasure in the universe...it was a _triangle_.

Okay, Hakasae said it was a...what did they call it?...'triangluar prism'.

_Triangle. _

The crew just stared, mezmirized by the power that this _triangle _could do.

"So...the ZangyZak...could have never existed?" Gai inquired hopefully, and when he got a 'yes' for a response, he gasped in amazement.

Marvelous almost did the same. _That'd _make life easier, that was for sure. Demo...

What about the others?

As much as Gai was a newbee and quite obnoxious, being a crazy fan boy...

He'd certainly shown them all some compassion. He was like...the annoying little brother Marvelous had never wanted.

Slowly, uncertainly, Ahim rushed toward it, blinking and ringing her hands.

"So...Planet Famille could be restored?" she gasped a little, and when she got the answer _Yes_, she got a look on her face that was only relief and hope.

Marvelous felt his stomach go hollow. Well, Marvelous' stomach was _always _seeming to be hollow, but...this was more importantly than food. (Gasp!) This was _Ahim _we were talking about. He couldn't let _her _go...maybe AkaRed, maybe Basco, demo...

_Not _Ahim.

As a Pirate, he took all he wanted for himself. For examplie, the greatest treasure in the universe. He'd also taken Ahim in. So to give it all up? That certainly wasn't the Marvelous way. Demo...

Could he really stand to see her so heartbroken when her only true desire so was so close, and yet he wouldn't let her have it?

"And my home planet?" Doc asked just as hopefully, and when he got a positive response, he just couldn't keep that look off his face.

Okay, despite how _annoying _he was sometimes...and naggy...and clingy...and squmish...and basically just a few handfuls...

He didn't want to loose Hakasae, either.

Not only had he kept the cleaning and cooking in order...he'd also made Marvelous devolop a little soft spot. His sensitivity and childlike-nature had given him new appreition of the weak could do...with a little encouragment, of course.

"Fia could live again...and we could happily ever after together?" Luka inquired witisfully, as if she could see it now, and the same smile appeared on her face.

Oh, not her too!

She was a tomboy, that was for sure. She was rebellious and stubborn...and quite honestly, sometimes he wanted to rip his hair out.

DEMO...

While Joe watched his back, she kind of watched his front. She was cunning, sly, and...okay, fine. She _was _kinda cute.

"And...Cid's life...?" Joe's voice even matched the others', and the captain about lost it then and there.

_Not _Joe. His best friend.

They'd been through alot together. Joe'd sworn to be with him through it all, even past his dream. Demo...if he had his _old _friend...

Whoah. Back up a minute.

_Old friend._

Old _best _friend.

He closed his eyes a minute, breathing softly.

Basco.

If the ZangyZak had never existed...

Basco never would have betrayed him or...

AkaRed.

AkaRed never would have been killed.

He could...be part of the Red Pirates again. And they could have a fun adventure...forever. Demo...he _liked _being Captain Marvelous. Not Marvelous the...

_Janitor. _

Okay, sorta janitor. He sure did alot of cleaning...that was part of the reason he didn't exactly enjoy keeping the ship all...er..."ship-straight" when he was captain. He did _not _like the broom. The broom and him...well, let's just say...

It wasn't pretty.

"Sounds good to me!" the words just tumbled out of his mouth as he gave his FAMOUS smirk.

**Blah, blah, blah, things we've already seen...**

That night, he laid in his own bed, just staring at the ceiling. He just didn't know what to do. The greatest treasure in the universe...that'd take care of every problem. Except...

He'd miss them all.

They'd been through so much together...and they were so ready to give it up. Marvelous knew what heartbreak was. He knew what it was like to loose those you'd thought you'd be with through it all. He knew what it was like to...yes...

Cry.

_Really _cry.

All of them, he'd thought, knew what that was like. Now he was second doubting everything he'd known about them.

_"AkaRed?" a younger Marvelous looked up to his captain._

_"Hai?" _

_"Why do you even bother with me? I'm just a son of a gun. Why do you even want me along?" He'd been feeling guilty about almost getting the two murdered earlier, and AkaRed could tell._

_"I don't,"_

_"Eh?"_

_"You choose to come along. It'd your own life. Do what you want with it. If I got tired of you on my ship, I throw you off over an ocean," the younger man thought about these words as the captain patted his shoulder._

_"AkaRed? We're going to stick together...aren't we?" a past Marvelous really didn't like thinking about made his trust have issues._

_"Friendship is the most important thing, Marvelous," the older man smirked behind his helmet...not that anyone could see that, "never take it for granite. Even when your friends aren't friends...you gotta stick with them. If they really are friends...they'll come through."_

GokaiRed sighed loudly and punched the wall.

XXXXXXX

Just seeing them happy.

Well, as happy as they could be under the circumastances.

Ahim was making tea, Gai was rabbling to Joe, who was doing situps, Luka was admiring her jewlry. and Doc was cooking. This was how it supposed to be. This was...how it _always _should be.

No matter what...he was _not _goin be stuck alone once more with a lonely heart of that big old ship. He had Navi...she was always good to have along. But it just wasn't the same when you knew what you were missing.

He wondered what AkaRed may have thought at times. There were plenty of times Marvelous had almost gotten everyone killed...and then Basco was sometimes a jerk...and then just being a Red...but he'd always looked like he'd had it under control. Why couldn't he do that?

"Marvelous-san," he looked down at Ahim, who was...smiling? Wow, she was _good_.

"Yeah?" he cleared his throat to cover the shaky in his voice.

"Whatever happens...I am grateful I could be a part of your crew," she stepped back and bowed respecitivley to her captain, "argiato."

"Yeah!" Gai scrambled up, bowing as well, "argiagto, Marvelous-san!"

"Argigato," Luka smiled, doing a little bow of her own with Doc.

"What she said," the blonde blushed a little.

"Yeah. Argigato," Joe smirked, nodding to show his gratitude.

Marvelous just stared at them. How could they...? But he...

"Yeah," he just smirked and went back to his chair, "let's talk about how we're going to get these ZangyZak things down the drain already."

"Hai!" they nodded, quickly assuming their spots and throwing ideas into the air while smiling, like they just knew everything really _would _work out this time.

Their happiness.

That's all he needed to see to surrive with whatever he ended up with.

At any price to pay.


End file.
